HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CALLS FOR RENEWAL OF ENERGIES FOR PRACTICAL AND CREATIVE INITIATIVES ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS

HR/99/18
8 March 1999



The following is the message of High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson on the occasion of International Women's Day:

“I am sending this message to all women, but especially to those who have to fight ceaselessly to carry on with their daily life in the face of the denial of their basic human rights.

Women everywhere suffer domestic violence each day. Increasingly, women are targeted in armed conflicts. The majority of the world's refugees are women; female illiteracy is invariably higher than male illiteracy; women and girl children are becoming commodities in cross-border prostitution rackets and the pornography industry.

One of the starkest reflections of the low status accorded to women is the discrimination against them in the law. In many countries, women are not treated as men's equals, whether in property rights, rights of inheritance, laws related to marriage and divorce, or the rights to acquire nationality, manage property or seek employment.

I urge that International Women's Day be the occasion to reaffirm our commitment to fight for the full enjoyment of basic human rights for all women. Women's equal dignity and human rights are affirmed in the basic declarations and instruments of the international community. However, women throughout the world have found that declarations and conventions are not enough to guarantee their human rights. It is time to move from fine words to firm action to ensure that their rights are fully honoured. In this, women must be the leaders as agents of change, because women taking on that responsibility make the difference.

Fighting for women's rights is a positive struggle which recognizes the quality of women's contribution to every aspect of the community. I therefore invite all to renew their energies in undertaking practical and creative initiatives to achieve full respect of the human rights of women.

I am pleased to join the United Nations Development Fund for Women today in their Inter-agency Global Videoconference: "A World Free of Violence Against Women". The conference is using new technologies to build a worldwide constituency of support on this issue. Practical and innovative measures to realize the human rights of women are also a priority for my Office".